I think in hindsight I was a bit too kind to this movie. It’s very emotionally affecting at points, but I left the theatre this time feeling as though there was something slightly artificial about it, as though I had been tricked into feeling that way. There are some missteps that filter into this: the way the soundtrack is almost always playing, the sometimes ham handed dialogue, both giving the feeling that the director does not entirely trust you to get it without a little help.
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The Godfather 1972
I think this is actually a weaker entry in what I might consider a “five star movie.” It’s essentially technically perfect in music, in acting, in writing, in all the various components you could think of as being important to a film. But it doesn’t really speak to me the way that a movie like, say, Fire Walk With Me did, in spite of real technical flaws. And I feel a bit guilty about this — I want to respect and enjoy movies as art rather than mere entertainment, but this feels at odds with how I actually end up responding to them.
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Mulholland Drive 2001
There’s a particular scheme a lot of my nightmares tend to follow. The beginning varies, but it always ends with what I call (a bit tongue in cheek) the ‘horrifying revelation.’ In the cold light of day, I typically can’t remember the details, and if I do manage to retain anything, it’s either silly or meaningless without context, the way dreams usually are. But the way it made me feel is easier to remember: my heart in my throat, the…
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The Watermelon Woman 1996
1. Really charming! The “amateur” feeling of the editing and acting works for the movie more often than it works against it.
2. A lot of this movie references a world that doesn’t exist anymore: video rental stores are gone, lesbian bars are gone, Philadelphia rents are continuing to trend upwards (the death knell for most cities). I never got to experience any of it, but there’s still a feeling of loss. Watching The Watermelon Woman feels like seeing early work, but unfortunately Cheryl Dunye seems not to have really made it much further.
3. holy shit camille paglia i forgot you were in thisTranslated from by
